Fill in the holes in the national instant-background-check database by requiring states to report, among others, seriously mentally disturbed individuals.

Crack down on firearms dealers who knowingly sell to straw purchasers.

Require gun owners to report loss or theft of weapons to local authorities within 48 hours.

"Fingerprint" bullets and cartridge casings to make it easier to trace guns used in crimes.

All common sense, right? What I find interesting is that Whitney's proposals are contained in a book called Living With Guns: A Liberal's Case for the Second Amendment. In other words, he believes -- and rightfully so -- that none of these measures interferes with an American's Constitutional right to own a gun. Yet the NRA would surely oppose most of them. Why? No American right is absolute -- free speech, for example, doesn't allow you to make death threats or, famously, yell "fire" in a crowded theater. What's so different about the 2nd Amendment?